Under the Stars
by Gambler Tut
Summary: When Nick and Judy finally get some vacation time, Nick is ready to spend a weekend relaxing. However, the two find themselves on a camping trip in Bunnyburrow. As Nick and Judy slowly unravel their feelings for one another, Nick now has to win over the respect of Stu and Bonnie, all while learning how to survive in the great outdoors. This vacation won't be very relaxing, will it?
1. Long Weekend

A/N: Thanks to the positive response to my first story, I'm back to write more! By far the biggest critique of that work was that it was not long enough, so this story will not only have multiple chapters, but each chapter will be quite a bit longer! So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy "Under the Stars"!

* * *

"We're finally on vacation, Nick!" Judy pumped her fist as she drove the police cruiser. "I can't believe the Chief was in a good enough mood to give us a long weekend."

"I'm not surprised," Nick remarked as he reclined in his seat. "Even Chief couldn't withstand my devilish charm." He glanced at Judy with his famous half lidded smile.

Judy's ears flopped down and she rolled her eyes. "You probably just annoyed him to the point where he would do anything to get you out of his face."

"No comment on the tactics used, but you can't deny the results, though." To Judy, it didn't actually matter. She simply enjoyed the banter they had back and forth. In the months the two had spent together as partners, they had established an amazing chemistry, both in and out of work.

"Anyways, what's your exciting plans for the weekend, Slick?" Nick contemplated for a minute. He actually hadn't thought that far ahead before bartering with Bogo and didn't have any formal plans made, not that he particularly minded. Being a fox, and a former conman, Nick had lived a relatively solitary life. One special rabbit quickly broke that wall, however, quickly becoming the most important mammal in Nick's life. She coaxed Nick into an upstanding lifestyle, and forced him to be more social, things that Nick would never be able to repay to Judy. However, despite the worked she had accomplished, Nick still had some residual solitary tendencies.

"I for one have a wonderful date planned with my bed, and I hear season five of "Treehouse of Cards" just came out…"

Judy looked straight at Nick, shocked. "That's it? How could you possibly survive doing _nothing_ but laying in bed?"

Nick attempted to defend himself, "First, _Nutflix_ is not _nothing._ Second of all, not all mammals have the same amount of energy as you, Honeybun. I am perfectly fine-"

"Nope," Judy interrupted. "I refuse to let you sit around in your little apartment all weekend. I'm going to find something for us to do." Nick nearly commented on the fact that his apartment was nearly twice as big as her little shack, but decided it wasn't worth it. Judy was highly driven; she had a mission to get Nick to do something, and nothing was going to stop her. As Judy pondered ideas, she pulled up in front of Nick's apartment, cut the engine, and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Oh, Fluff, don't worry about walking me up to my apartment. I'm a big fox, I can make it up myself," Getting up from the seat, he made his way towards the large apartment building.

Judy was not so easily deterred from her goal. "Don't think you're getting off that easy. I'm coming up with you, like it or not." Nick responded with a mumble, but allowed her to follow him up the elevator to his floor. Suddenly, as the two entered the room, Judy exploded. "I have an idea!" Nick flinched at the sudden energy, and she continued, "Back in Bunnyburrow, there's an amazing camping spot that I used to go to all the time when I was a kit. Plus, you can finally meet my parents and all my brothers and sisters. It'll be great!"

Nick looked down and shifted around hesitantly. He loved his partnership with Judy, perhaps more than he should in a platonic relationship, but was he ready to visit her hometown and possibly meet her parents? That was a huge step in _any_ relationship. If he messed up, which could be relatively easy in an already somewhat bigoted family, that could spell disaster for any potential future he had with her. "I don't know, Carrots. I'm a tired old fox, plus I've never even been camping before, I've spent my whole life in Zootopia." Memories of the Junior Ranger Scouts flooded his mind, and Nick suddenly became somber. After the way the other kids had treated him, he had quickly lost his interest in camping.

Almost reading his mind, Judy's ears dropped to her shoulders. "Nick, I know you didn't have a great experience with camping, and I want to try to make some of that up to you. I know it's not the same, but it could be like our own little Ranger Scouts Pack." Judy's sparkling orbs looked up at Nick, nose twitching in sadness.

Deep down, Nick's heart melted. He refrained from calling her "cute", lest Judy's empathy vanish, but it truly was the best word to describe what he saw. _She really does care about me,_ Nick thought. Slowly, Nick got on his knees to match Judy's small stature and earnestly embraced the bunny. Judy hugged Nick back just as enthusiastically. The two lingered for a while, neither wanting to end the moment, until Nick softly whispered into her ear, "Pack Wildehopps has a nice ring to it."

"So does that mean we are going camping?"

"Yes, yes it does."

* * *

 _Yes, yes, yes!_ , Judy thought as she arrived back at her own apartment. After months of constant prodding to get Nick to open up more, the effort was finally paying off. She finally had an opportunity to spend an extended amount of time solely with her partner _._ Judy hadn't always liked Nick, as evidenced by her blackmail of him. Over time, though, and despite the massive mistakes she had made in alienating him during the Nighthowler case, Nick had repeatedly shown her compassion, forgiveness, and commitment; all things she found remarkably attractive. _And it's not only the inside that's attractive._

Hastily, Judy threw clothes into a suitcase, excited for the coming days, when a wave of nervousness came over her. _What if Nick ends up hating camping? What if my parents embarrass me_ , _or worse, him?_ Judy shook her head and snapped out of it. _I didn't become a police officer by worrying, I did it by trying!_ Now was not the time for doubt. She was going to make this camping trip great for both of them, no matter what. Determined and confident, the bunny stripped off her clothing, and jumped into bed. As she dozed off into sleep, she subconsciously embraced one of her favorite stuffed animals: a red fox.

* * *

A/N: There's the first chapter!

Please leave constructive feedback in the comments, I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing. If you want to go above and beyond, let me know if you'd like to beta read my work in the future as well.

Also, if you enjoyed, leave some Kudos! No promises, but I write faster when I'm motivated ; ).

Until next time!


	2. The Zootopia Express

Nick was surrounded by a warm haze, floating peacefully through space. _So this is what it feels like to have a cloud hug you,_ he thought blissfully, relishing in the sensation. The fox smiled softly as the pinkish haze slowly flew past him. No stress, no worries...BAM! Nick felt his body slam to a screeching halt as he ran into a cold, hard wall. The warm haze quickly vanished, replaced by aching pain where his snout had contacted the barrier.

"Are you alright, Nick?" Nick heard Judy yelp, as he began to regain his bearings in reality. Nick scrambled to sit upright, realizing the "wall" he had ran into was indeed not a wall, but rather a floor. Looking up, Nick was greeted with the face of his bunny partner, eyes wrought with confusion and worry.

Nick rubbed his temples, and responded in a gravely voice, "I'm alright, but Carrots, where am I and what the hell happened?"

Relieved her partner wasn't actually hurt, she replied, "Don't you remember, silly, we're on the train to Bunny Burrow to go camping, and I do believe you fell asleep, and landed face first onto the floor. But I'm no detective...yet," Judy's face had on Nick's trademarked half-lidded smirk, and her voice sounded slightly too sarcastic to be telling the whole truth.

Standing up, Nick put the two and two together. "You pushed my arm out from supporting my head, didn't you?"

Judy avoided Nick's eye contact, "I _may_ have given your elbow a little encouragement to slip. Besides, I didn't realize you would practically dive onto the ground. I hope I didn't hurt you too much,"

In reality, Nick's pain had already subsided dramatically, but decided to play along. "My orthodontist will be furious with the damage you have done! Now I'll only be the _second_ most handsome fox in Zootopia, and I'll be riddled with chronic pain,"

Ignoring Nick's dramatism, the bunny had an idea brewing in her head. Quickly, she stood on her seat to be equal to Nick's height, leaned over, and gave a short kiss on the canid's nose, and sat back down as fast as it had begun. Nick stood, dazed at his partner's audacity, comprehending the sudden affection. The fox's cheeks were surely as red as the fur that covered them, and felt the previously cold train car now seemed unbearably hot. _How does such a small gesture get to me so much?_

Realizing he had been staring blankly without a response, Nick exclaimed, "I think the pain is gone now," and hurriedly assumed his seat next to the bunny, avoiding her gaze.

Judy grinned, content with the effect she was able to have on her fox. _Her fox,_ she thought again. To anyone else, that kind of possessiveness would sound creepy, but it sounded so _natural_ when referring to Nick. The two were still relatively new friends, but already they were inseparable. Physical interaction wasn't awkward, rather, it was common. A shared touch between friends. _That's right, just friends…._

Right on cue, a small giggle escaped from Judy's lips as a certain white-tipped tail flicked across her leg. "Oh, I'm sorry, Carrots. I swear that thing has a mind of its own," Nick quipped, while moving his tail to the other side of his body, out of reach from Judy, and going back to enjoying view outside.

"It's no problem." _Please move your tail back oh my goodness it was so soft please please please move it back and brush it up against my leg._ It took all of her will not to blurt out her inner desires to the fox. Instead, it was the bunny's turn to blush. This was already shaping up to be an interesting trip.

* * *

"Welcome to the Bunny Burrow Station. Next stop: Podunk County," rang the monotonous announcer throughout the train. Judy shot up from her apparent slumber at those words, clamoring to get her large bag of supplies. She turned around, confirming Nick was doing the same, when she noticed a large dark spot encircling just his right shoulder.

"Nick, what happened to your shirt?"

"Fluff, _you_ happened. Apparently my arm makes a pretty good pillow." The canid pulled out his phone and turned it around to show to the bunny. Judy was appalled. On the screen was a photo of her, hugging her partner's arm, and mouth (unflatteringly) agape on his shoulder, a line of drool clearly visible, along with Nick's dramatically annoyed expression. "You should probably close your mouth before you start drooling again," he quipped, walking past the shocked rabbit to the train door. She marched around, prepared to give a remark, but couldn't decide what emotion she felt: angry that he took the picture, embarrassed that he saw her in such a state, or even happy that Nick was comfortable enough with her to allow it to happen in the first place.

Regardless, it could wait. They had a more important issue at hand now: Judy's parents. The partners exited the train and the first thing the fox noticed was smell. It didn't smell of… anything. The stink and grime that penetrated much of Zootopia was absent. Besides the train station and buildings around it, there were simply miles and miles of field. It was quaint, but refreshing. Slightly less refreshing was the two lapines in front of him. Nick had a lot riding on this first impression, and it was now or never.

"My parents!" squealed Judy, blazing past to greet Stu and Bonnie, tightly embracing her two parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Nick!"

Nick waved and shook the two bunnies' hands. "Hello, I came to return Judy to you. I think she's defective,"

All three of the lapines laughed. _This is going well!_ , thought Nick. _Now I just have to keep this up!_

Stu finally responded, "It's great to finally be able to attach a face to this 'Nick' Jude has told us so much about. It would have been nice to know that he was a fox ahead of time, though…"

 _Fuck._

* * *

A/N: I'm back! I've been on multiple trips, and now that I'm back to reality, I had to totally relearn how to write (not that I've ever been good at it).

I hope you enjoyed this, and while I can't promise I'll have more chapters soon, it won't be for a lack of trying!


	3. The Compound

Church. Antarctica. The bottom of the ocean. All places Nick would rather be than the back of the Hopps' family truck. All that could be heard was the monotonous roar of the engine; everyone was quiet. Tense. At least Nick was. The normally loose fitting Pawaiian shirt and tie felt like a straightjacket, like any sudden move would set off an alarm. Usually, the quick-witted fox relied on his silver tongue to get out of these awkward situations, but at the moment, his mouth was as dry as Sahara Square.

 _I am definitely talking to Judy about this situation once we get to the compound._

Avoiding the eye contact of the bunnies, Nick soaked in the environment. While it wasn't what he would consider mountainous, there certainly were foothills, surprisingly lush with trees. Slowly, the terrain flattened out until, as far as the eye could see, were fields of crops, likely carrots, and (hopefully) blueberries. It was almost soothing to watch…

"Liking the farm?" the matron of the Hopps family questioned Nick. It took all of the effort in the world not to jump out of his skin.

"Umm, yes!" he replied with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Judy better watch out or I might just quit the ZPD to work here!" The words were something Nick might say, but looking to his right, where Judy sat, the confusion in her eyes implied the execution left a lot to be desired.

The bunny felt Nick's pain. This whole thing was _her_ fault. She imagined Nick in her head so often: his red fur, his fluffy tail, his bad outfits. All of these things were so ingrained that she just assumed she had told her parents that Nick was a fox at _some_ point. She was wrong, and now they both had to pay. Attempting to rescue the vulpine from the obviously awkward conversation, the bunny said cheerily, "We're getting really close to the compound! You're going to be so impressed by it. Plus you get to meet my siblings! All 275 of them!"

"275 clones of you? I think I might die of exhaustion by the end of this trip." That comment earned a chuckle out of the two parents in the front seats. Nick was slowly regaining some of his much needed confidence. _They might have been expecting a handsome young buck, but they're getting something even better; Agent Nick Wilde, superstar extraordinaire! I just have to be me, and I'll win them over just like I'll win over Judy! Hopefully…_

By the end of that thought, the vehicle had slowed to a stop, and Stu cut the engine. "Welcome to the amazing compound!" The older bunny used his arms to unveil a building that was frankly… unimpressive. At just one story, it looked like a shack that could barely house 2 people, let alone 275.

Judy rolled her eyes, hopping in front of Nick to shove her dad. "He does this to all new guests. The majority of the living space is underground. It's a lot more cost effective, and easier to expand," she explained, Nick visibly relieved that he wasn't about to offend the family he was already on edge with. He certainly didn't need any more stress. Especially since he hadn't met the bunny wave yet...

All four mammals mosied their way inside, with Judy's parents leading the way. Inside the shack was not a home, but as Judy promised, a huge elevator shaft leading down. Stu pressed the button, and instantly a door opened into what seemed like a room in and of itself. "This thing must be able to carry hundreds of bunnies, the fox claimed with awe."

"Sure can. Or just a few big foxes." Nick was bamboozled. _Did he just call me fat?_ It was so nonchalant that he couldn't even tell if it was a joke or not. He looked to his partner for confirmation, only to see her glaring at her father with such intensity, Nick thought lasers would fly out. _That answers my question. Don't get too comfortable._ _Check._

It was over as quickly as it started, as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened, and the fox rushed out as quickly as possible to avoid any further confrontation, only to be faced by what could be best described as a sea of grey fur. It reminded Nick of the fields he saw only moments before, only this time, with hundreds of wide eyes greeting him. It was eerily quiet as all of the rabbits soaked in the presence of a new figure. Judy quickly brushed up against the fox, introducing him to the family, "Everyone, this is Nick Wilde, my-"

That was enough to break the trance. Suddenly, the horde of bunnies rushed to meet the enticing new fox.

"You're so tall!"

"His fur is so red!"

"I'm scared,"

"Are you Jude's girlfriend?"

"He's not as fat as Uncle Gideon is,"

"He's kinda cute,"

"Do you fight bad guys?"

"I want to touch his tail!"

"Me too!"

Nick had no way of responding to any of the questions. The horde was overwhelming, with no regard for personal space. Tiny paws found their way all over his body, especially on the enticingly fluffy tail of his. Judy did her best to pry the younglings off her, but to no avail. With so many siblings, it was no use.

Suddenly, a loud whistle pierced the crowd. "EVERYONE, GET IN RANKS!" Surprisingly, the female voice of Bonnie scattered the mammals , revealing the disheveled fox lying on the hard ground in a fetal position.

"Violated...so many bunnies...so many hands," he quietly whispered to himself, rocking back and forth. Judy felt incredibly bad for the fox. She would really have to make this up to him during the rest of the camping trip. Her parents had the same look of guilt on their faces as well, which would certainly help ease the tension in the long run, even if it meant that Nick would be literally hurting in the short term.

The matron continued her strict attempt at rallying her children, who had since lined up in a relatively orderly fashion after being yelled at. "As Judy was saying, this is Nick, and he will be our guest for a while. You'll get to see them a whole lot more when we go camping with them this weekend, and I expect all of you to have much better behaviour if you expect to come along. Dismissed!"

Judy found it striking how similar her mother and Chief Bogo sounded when they were mad... _WAIT WHAT! Since when is all my family coming camping with us! This is going to be a nightmare!_

* * *

 _A/N:_ _I promise this won't be one of those fics where Nick and Judy never actually end up going camping! We're definitely approaching the actual camping soon!_

 _I'll try to write more soon so it's not another 2 weeks before an update. I hope you enjoyed this anyways, though._


End file.
